Friday Thoughts: Horton Wanted

Horton is one of the memorable characters in Dr. Zeus' books.  I was already an adult when I first came across him and I ended up teary-eyed when I heard his story on "Horton Hears a Who" knowing the reality of its message. 

Plot

The book tells the story of Horton the Elephant who, in the afternoon of May 15 while splashing in a pool located in the Jungle of Nool, hears a small speck of dust talking to him. Horton discovers that the speck of dust is actually a tiny planet, home to a little who community called Whoville, where the Whos live. The Whos are led by a character known as the Mayor. 

The Mayor asks Horton to protect them from harm, which Horton happily agrees to do, proclaiming throughout the book that "even though you can’t see or hear them at all, a person’s a person, no matter how small." In doing so he is ridiculed and forced into a cage by the other animals in the jungle for believing in something that they are unable to see or hear. His chief tormentors are Vlad Vladikoff, the Wickersham Brothers and the Sour Kangaroo.

Horton tells the Whos that, lest they end up being boiled in "Beezelnut Oil", they need to make themselves heard to the other animals. The Whos finally accomplish this by ensuring that all members of their society play their part in creating lots of noise so they are heard by the jungle folks. In the end it is a "very small shirker named JoJo" whose final addition to the volume creates enough lift for the jungle to hear the sound, thus reinforcing the moral of the story: "a person’s a person, no matter how small."

Now convinced of the Whos’ existence, Horton’s neighbors vow to help him protect the tiny community.

I wonder if there are still  like him who will hear and protect those who are just too small.  I wonder if any of those candidates to be elected on Monday will measure up to Horton's courage.

For the unborn, the poor, those experiencing injustice... let us make their voices heard.

Please go out on Monday & vote wisely.

Tin

Images:  Family Chic | Lessons From Fantasy
Plot: Wikipedia.org

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